"If…if you expect me to beg…you're sorely mistaken."
Heavy Warrior growled as he once again found himself tied to the T-shaped post in the heat of the day. For the last three days he and Goblin Slayer were taken out of their cages, beaten by the slavers, and dragged out to opposite ends of the camp for their daily torture. During this time, he and the others really took notice of all the things the slavers would do and where they would go. They watched the slavers, both male and female, take away random slaves to be used for their own enjoyment; they noticed the specific tent in which the slavers would gather their weapons and supplies. Much to Heavy Warrior's annoyance he watched as one of the slavers struggled to lift his claymore, letting it drop several times, it in fact two of the slavers to even hold the sword but even then they dropped it once again.
As per the Mistress demands, Goblin Slayer's torture was far more brutal as in addition to the being beaten with clubs and stoned, was now doused with urine and pelted with various bits of animal and human excrement. To the salvers, his silence even in the face of all of this was both aggravating and unnerving, as they soon abandoned him to stew in the hot sun while covered in waste. In his silence, Goblin Slayer's rage was slowly building, he tightly clenched his fists and slowly pulled at his restraints as he could feel the darkness within calling him to kill all in his way.
"Calm yourself Beloved, you shall have your opportunity to slay these wretched creatures."
During these three days, there had been a pause in the fights to allow for the slaves to be cleaned up for the auctions. Goblin Slayer and his colleagues were kept from this privilege as they watched as an assortment of individuals came in to purchase and sell slaves. Humans seeking slave labor or concubines for their sick and twisted pleasure, demons and minions of chaos would come in to see suitable specimens for sacrifice or possibly for consumption. The three adventurers each seethed with anger at the treatment of these poor souls and the joy the salvers and their patrons who took pleasure in the suffering of the slaves.
"These slavers, they must pay for these atrocities. By my blade, as a future paladin, I swear they will be held accountable for all they've done." Female Knight once again found herself growling as her bestial instinct wished to take over.
Mistress of the Game had been watching the trio of adventurers closely, making sure to only send her gifts to her cherished Knight when the wretched men were away, but was saddened to find her either throw the food out or simply let it sit there to spoil in the heat of the day. Her treatment of the other two had been extreme yet she would find them still strong in spirit and conversing with Female Knight the moment they were returned to their cages.
"These ones…they are quite troublesome." Mistress mused as she tapped her finger against her chin as she pondered what to do.
Within her tent, she sat upon her makeshift throne with her legs crossed while before her was a nude male slave eagerly licking her boots clean of the dirt and filth that had collected upon them.
"Slaves like this one are only good for succumbing to their baser desires, even with everything that is upon my boots he still acts as though it was the most delicious treat before him." Mistress looked down upon this slave with disgust as she noticed how aroused the excuse of a man was as he engaged in this activity. "I would have assumed that after all I had put those two through, their spirits would have been broken and yet…"
Mistress then took notice of the man, as he slowly reached with his hands to touch her boots, and quickly gave him a kick across the face. A sneer crossed her face as she saw his blood splash against her boots as she stood to literally and figuratively look down on this wretched man.
"Who gave you permission to touch me with your filthy hands, only your tongue was needed to wipe the excrement that had covered my boots!"
"F, forgive me my mistress. I was just so happy to be of service to you that I could not help myself."
Mistress could see the far away gaze in his eyes and pitiful smile he had despite the blood running down his chin and sighed in frustration. She had planned on venting her frustration on him as she had with the slave boy earlier, but then looking at him realized he might come to enjoy that.
"You are not meant to derive pleasure from punishment. Guards!"
Slave Handler and two of his subordinates came in and quickly took hold of the slave before turning toward Mistress.
"What shall we do with this one Mistress?"
"This one disgusts me, you are free to do whatever you wish with it…I just don't want to see it again."
"At once Mistress."
"Oh what rapture, I'll be of service to my Mistress even if I am not here directly."
The slavers took the wretched man away leaving Mistress to ponder what she would do with the two men who annoyed her, when a smile then crossed her face.
"If this form of torture is not enough to break them, then perhaps having them die in the games one at a time shall weaken their resolve and push my Knight closer towards me. After all…we have so much in common." Mistress smiled as she looked off toward the right to see the set of shiny armor trimmed with red and the black cape attached to the shoulders.
xxxx
After several days within Water Town, and no direct news of Goblin Slayer or the others, Priestess and the others decided it would be best to return back to Frontier Town, hopefully there they would be able to meet with the others and see if they had any leads. Unknown to them, Sword Maiden's acolytes had made contact with Hero and her party in a different town and informed them of the sudden abduction of Goblin Slayer. The trio, especially Hero, were shocked and enraged to hear that their colleague had been taken and they themselves went about seeking information that would help them and the rest of his party locate Goblin Slayer.
"Damn it…nothing to help us find Orcbolg." High Elf Archer hit the bottom of her fist against the wagon as they rode along back to Frontier Town.
"We can't give up yet Long Ears. We'll find Beardcutter and the others, but we have to have faith!"
"If only we had some kind of clue about where they could have gone or the whereabouts of those bastards." Half-Demon Thief sighed in annoyance as she rode along front with Dwarf Shaman then paused as she caught sight of a wagon up ahead off to the side of the road. "There's a wagon up ahead."
"I see it, I'll be sure to avoid it."
"No wait a moment…that cage behind it…is that?" Half-Demon Thief could not believe what she was seeing.
Dwarf Shaman pulled the wagon to a halt and the other three within the wagon each moved toward the front to look forward at the other wagon with the cage behind it. Careful examination of the wagon and cage did indeed look like what they had been searching for, but at the same time they needed to be cautious.
"If that is the wagon, we'll need to be careful, especially if they recognize us." High Elf Archer was already reaching for her bow and arrow.
"They haven't seen all of us though." Half-Demon Thief whispered to the others never taking her eyes off the wagon. "Priestess and I will ride forward, you three sneak around the side and see if Goblin Slayer or the others are there."
"Should we take Wolf with us as well young Demoness?"
"No, if these men are indeed the same ones that took Goblin Slayer, Wolf will recognize their scent." Half-Demon Thief turned back toward Priestess and noticed the worried look on her face. "Don't worry, we'll get him and the others back."
While Lizard Priest, High Elf Archer and Lizard Priest quickly disembarked from the wagon, the group of adventurers were completely unaware of the two figures who had been following close behind. On horse back through the woods along side them, the pair draped in their black robes and plague masks were quick to observe the group inquiring about Goblin Slayer, which would mean they were looking for the Animal Tracker.
"They're stopping…a wagon ahead of them. It was wise to follow these adventurers."
"I see them. We must watch this group carefully, if they find Animal Tracker that may in turn lead them to finding our master. His research must continue uninterrupted. Be prepared to act."
"Of course."
xxxx
"We've wasted enough time. Water Town is less than a day away, surely your lardass could hold it in for a few more hours." Elder Animal Tracker took a drag on his wooden pipe before exhaling the smoke.
"I'm sorry, must have been that damn food we got from the slavers." Animal Wrangler waddled forward while picking up his pants. "Something about it didn't taste quite right and has upset my stomach quite a bit."
"I'm not surprised, you know damn well that the meat they have is either rotten or not animal."
"Not animal?"
"Surely you're not that stupid, what do you think they do with excess or unwanted slaves?"
"You mean I…"
"Possibly. Could have been human, elf, rhea, hell might have been goblin meat you ate." Elder Animal Tracker moved around the back the cage to get to the front of the wagon when he noticed the other wagon approaching them. "Be on guard, wagon approaching."
"What! What do you see?"
"Looks like a couple of women at the front…don't be getting any funny ideas, we need to get to Water Town. Get up in the driver's seat, I'll do the talking."
Animal Wrangler did as instructed while Elder Animal Tracker waited patiently along the side of the wagon while putting on the friendliest face he could. The wagon soon came to a halt beside them and he tipped his hat toward the two young women atop it.
"Need some help?"
The young woman speaking had dark colored skin and bright yellow eyes, Elder Animal Tracker took her for a dark elf. Given her attire and overall demeanor, he believed her to be a thief or assassin, and quickly caught sight of her guild tag. The other girl was wearing the vestments of the clergy, he took her to be a priestess or some sort of healer of the group.
"Just two of them…at least what I'm able to see." Elder Animal Tracker smiled toward the two girls and shook his head. "No worries, my friend just needed to relieve himself."
"Yes, something I ate didn't quite agree with me." Animal Wrangler gave a weak smile as he nodded toward the girls.
The girls carefully took in the sight of the men, the two they were looking at seemed to perfectly match what have been described to them from Guild Girl. Half-Demon Thief carefully glanced toward the cage, she could easily recognize the claw marks made by the werewolf and the design and structure exactly matched up to what they had seen.
"I'm glad to see you guys are okay, I was worried that perhaps you had some trouble and needed our assistance."
Half-Demon Thief carefully motioned with her left hand, unseen by the two men, to let Priestess know this was the wagon and cage they were looking for.
"That's quite the cage, you guys hunting or transporting?"
"Just keeping it handy…you never know what you'll need it for." Elder Animal Tracker continued to smile but slowly maneuvered his hand towards his back to reach for his knife.
While he was doing this, Animal Wrangler too was reaching for his weapon, keeping his eyes on the girls, completely unaware of the trio of adventurers sneaking up behind him, High Elf Archer readying her arrow to take the shot.
"I'll bet and I'm guessing that Goblin Slayer and the others had no idea they be taken captive in that thing as well?" Half-Demon Thief dropped her smile as a stern look crossed her face. "If I were you. I'd stop reaching for those weapons…it makes him mad."
"Make who mad elf?" Elder Animal Tracker took hold of the handle of his blade and readied himself to attack.
"Demon actually, and it make our dire wolf upset."
There was a sudden growling, and the covering of the wagon was torn apart as the massive dire wolf leapt toward Elder Animal Tracker. Elder Animal Tracker cried out at the beast clamped down on his left forearm and brought him down to the ground. Animal Wrangler reached for his weapon but did not get very far as an arrow hit his left shoulder making him cry out as he toppled out of the driver seat to the ground. With the pair of men down, the other adventurers rushed forward to quickly tie them up so that they could question them. The Faceless Men had seen this and knew they would need to act quickly to prevent any information about their master being said.
"I will deal with them, be sure to inform our master of what had to be done." One of the Faceless Men drew out a bow and arrow from the side of the horse. "I will ensure that I will tell them nothing. For the Miracle of Life."
"For the Miracle of Life." The second Faceless Men turned the horse around and slowly moved away.
"Tell us where Orcbolg is this instant!"
Elder Animal Tracker and Animal Wrangler were tied up and sat before the wagon, blood still running from their wounds. Elder Animal Tracker had a scowl about his face while Animal wrangler nervously looked around.
"I have no idea what you're talking about and even if I did, this "Orcbolg" would be dead by now." Elder Animal Tracker spat as he glared at the adventurers.
"It would be in your best interest to let us know what you did with Beardcutter and the others or we'll let Wolf at you once again."
As Dwarf Shaman said this Wolf snarled at the two men, drawing ever closer to them.
"Alright, I'll talk!" Animal Wrangler nervously backed up towards the wagon in a feeble attempt to move away from the dire wolf.
"You shut your damn…" Elder Animal Wrangler was unable to finish as he was struck across the face by Half-Demon Thief's fist.
"No, you need to shut the hell up!"
"It…we took Goblin Slayer and the others as payback for what he did to our partner. He beat him to a bloody pulp, laughing like a crazed man as he did it!" Animal Wrangler was nervous as he looked at the dire wolf and remembered what he had seen that day.
"Goblin Slayer…laughing?" Priestess was confused what she was hearing.
"He acted like a blood thirsty demon. It was just some stupid animals…why would he go through so much?"
"What did you say?" Lizard Priest stepped forward his anger growing in his voice. "My daughter, the young half-dragon you tortured and traumatized was among those poor creatures you stole! You and your men nearly killed her mother and put that poor girl through such misery!"
"I…I didn't know, we only took them for the games or to be sold to him. It wasn't personal!" Animal Wrangler sobbed as he looked toward the adventurers.
"Games? Him? What are you talking about?" High Elf Archer was also confused by what she was hearing.
"The…the Hell Games! If we couldn't sell them there, we were going to sell them to the Nec…"
Before he could finish, an arrow suddenly entered into his right eye pinning his head to the side of the wagon. Animal Wrangler was dead, much to the surprise of everyone around him, but primarily Elder Animal Tracker who was frantically looking around until he caught sight of the person in the plague mask. The others also turned to see this odd person in a plague mask raise his bow and draw back on the arrow to fire once again.
"NO! I haven't said any…"
As with Animal Wrangler, the arrow flew forward and pierced the left eye of Elder Animal Tracker, killing him instantly. The five adventures and dire wolf immediately readied themselves to attack as this odd person threw the bow off to the side.
"Damn it!" High Elf Archer growled as she saw both men dead, which meant any information they had on Orcbolg and the other adventurers was now lost.
"What the hell did you do?" Half-Demon Thief tightened her grip on the twin daggers as she readied to attack.
"Silenced those who talk too much. I will not allow my master's work to be interrupted." The odd man slowly drew out a crooked dagger from within his robes.
"Who are you? What did you all do with Beardcutter and our colleagues?"
"I am a Faceless Man, that is all you need to know." He raised his dagger and brought it to the left side of his neck. "For the Miracle of Life!"
"No stop!" Priestess called out but it was too late.
The Faceless Man plunged the blade into the left side of his neck much to the horror of those around him, then, despite gurgling on his own blood, slid the blade to the right completely tearing out his throat. He fell forward, his body spasming from the blood loss then stopped and all was silent along the road.
"Wha…what the hell is going on? Why…why would he do such a thing?" High Elf Archer was at a loss for what had just happened.
"He silenced them and then himself. He's been trained, molded into being a pawn for this master of his." Half-Demon Thief walked over toward the body and carefully examined it. "What kind of devotion leads you to willingly slice your own throat?"
"Blind devotion…those too foolish to see they're being tricked by the one they praise." Lizard Priest carefully examined the bodies of the two slavers but could find no clues as to the whereabouts of their comrades.
"These men clearly took Beardcutter and yet they were involved in something far more sinister judging by the actions of this one."
"Just what the hell have we stumbled into?" High Elf Archer was confused by all she had seen in this short amount of time.
"Trouble Long Ears and Beardcutter is still caught up in it."
Priestess tightly held her sounding staff in her hands, they had finally found some clues as to the where about of her teacher and now that was all gone once again. What's more, she was also greatly concerned with Goblin Slayer's actions as told to them by the portly slaver.
"Goblin Slayer…Earth Mother, please watch over him and guide us to locate him."
xxxx
Night fell, Heavy Warrior could see many of the slavers heading toward the Great Maw, yet he still found himself bound to the wooden post. He watched as several of the new slaves were taken away, what they would be fighting he was not sure, but had seen several new beasts brought in.
"These…bastards…finding joy in the suffering…of others."
Heavy Warrior found his breathing quite labored as the painful thirst overtook him, the hours in the hot sun were quite punishing, but he would not beg for water.
"If I know the others, they're also fighting against this as well, so I have to stay strong too." Heavy Warrior soon heard the roar of the crowd erupt from the pit. "Guess the games have started, how I wish the woman be thrown into the pit along with that fat slob."
He soon heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and as he turned to his left could see Slave Handler and two other slavers approaching.
"You come…to say goodnight?" Heavy Warrior had a smirk as he chuckled in the face of the Slave Handler.
"Good to see you in such high spirits, you'll need it for tonight's fight." Slave Handler held up his right hand and clenched his fist.
The collar around Heavy Warrior's neck began to glow and he found it difficult to breathe; struggle as he might, he couldn't catch his breath and eventually passed out.
"Get him ready for the fight."
xxxx
Heavy Warrior groaned when he heard a strange noise, it was growing louder and louder, and when he opened his eyes was able to see he was in the arena surrounded by the cheering slavers. He slowly stood, the pain in his neck still evident as he rubbed the spot above his collar as he took in his surroundings. Near the edge of the pit he could see Goblin Slayer still bound to the same type of post he had been only a few moments ago and beside Mistress was Female Knight her wrists bound together.
"What the hell are you…" Heavy Warrior soon realized that his leather armor and flimsy chainmail had been removed, he was only in his pants, boots and gloves. "What the hell is this?"
"I thought for tonight, you'd enjoy a little one on one fight…even I can be fair in my judgement." Mistress had a small grin on her face as she looked toward Heavy Warrior then turned her attention toward Female Knight. "My dear, let us watch and see how long he can endure."
"You disgust me."
Heavy Warrior soon heard the tightening of the ropes and turned to see the gate rising up and in stepped a massive figure. It stood nearly seven feet tall, just a massive mountain of muscle with its green skin, as its yellow eyes glared at the human before it. The gate closed as the massive beast lumbered forward, while the crowd cheered, Goblin Slayer and Female Knight saw this creature and even if it was unarmed knew it was something to be cautious of.
"A Goblin Champion." Goblin Slayer once again clenched his fists and he struggled to pull against his restraints.
"Shit." Heavy Warrior clenched his fists and readied to fight the goblin champion.
The massive creature swung its arms wide as Heavy Warrior quickly moved backwards then quickly rushed into to deliver two quick blows to the creature's midsection. The crowd cheered as the Heavy Warrior rushed in to hit the goblin champion again, but this time was struck by the beast and knocked to the ground. As Heavy Warrior struggled to get back to his feet, the goblin champion got hold of his leg and flung him against the side of the pit. A quick splash of blood stained the wall and Heavy Warrior slumped to the ground spitting blood from his mouth. Female Knight's eyes were wide as she watched her lover struggle to get back to his feet as the goblin champion marched forward.
"Is…is that all you've got…bastard?"
Heavy Warrior grunted as he got to his back to his hands and knees when the goblin champion brought both fists down upon his back. Heavy Warrior groaned as he was slammed back to the ground before being picked up by the goblin champion and once again thrown across the ring.
"Please…enough." Female Knight deeply worried for the wellbeing of Heavy Warrior turned toward Mistress. "Stop this!"
"Why? What's in it for me?" Mistress smiled as she looked toward Female Knight and gently stroked the left side of her face.
Female Knight was disgusted by the crazed woman's actions, but as she looked back toward the pit, the sight below filled her with dread. The goblin champion placed both hands on Heavy Warrior's neck and easily lifted him off the ground to strangle him. Heavy Warrior was unable to break the goblin's grip for the creature lunged forward with jaws open wide to eat the human, so he placed both of his hands on either side of the goblin's head to keep it from moving any closer. Seeing this happen was enough to convince Female Knight to submit to the Mistress when she and the others heard a voice call out.
"He…he has the same weakness as a human. Do what…you must to win."
The sudden voice came from Goblin Slayer he continued to pull at his restraints, but the more he pulled, the less strength he had. Heavy Warrior heard his friend call out to him and though the situation looked grim he quickly figured a way to turn the tide. He quickly moved his right hand across the goblin champions face and jammed his thumb deep into the goblin champion's left eye. The goblin champion roared as he released the human to tend to his bleeding eye, the moment it did this, Heavy Warrior moved in to continue his attack. Heavy Warrior grunted as he rushed forward and slammed his fist, at full force, into the goblin's groin. The goblin champion roared in pain as it collapsed to its knees before it moved its hands to cover itself. Heavy Warrior then took hold of the got hold of the goblin's left wrist with his left hand and began to pull while pushing against the elbow with his right.
"Come on…break damn you."
With a final grunt he broke the goblin arm as the monster continued to howl in pain, but Heavy Warrior was far from finished. Heavy Warrior quickly leapt onto the goblin's back and wrapped her left arm around the creature's neck then pulled it tight with his right arm. The goblin champion gasped for air as it got back to its feet and struggled to shake the human off its back as Heavy Warrior continued to pull tighter and tighter against the goblin's throat.
"Kill him!" Female Knight was on her feet cheering for her lover much to the dismay of Mistress.
"Fall you bastard!" Heavy Warrior grunted as he pulled as tight as he could, refusing to let go no matter how much the goblin shook its body.
The goblin champion, tongue hanging from its mouth, gasped violently before it dropped to its knees then fell forward. Despite the heavy thud, Heavy Warrior refused to release his grip but now that the goblin was down and not moving, he would ensure it would not be getting back up. He then gave the creature's neck a violent twist and only released his grip when he heard the awful crack of the goblin's vertebrae. He released his grip and rolled off the dead creature, laying on his back looking at the sky before raising his right fist in victory. The crowd around the pit was silent, but suddenly they erupted into a thunderous cheer at the sight of Heavy Warrior coming out victorious. Female Knight was on her feet cheering happily while Goblin Slayer nodded his head in approval.
While all this was going on, Mistress could only look on with wide eyes at the sight of Heavy Warrior coming out victorious. He would have died if not for the armored man's interference, if not for Goblin Slayer. Once again, her eyes began to dilate as these wretched men refused to follow along with her plans, but she needed to continue to act the part. She stood and approached the pit, looking down at Heavy Warrior who was slowly getting back to his feet, and began to clap her hands as well.
"Magnificent. You are truly worthy of that silver rank indeed."
"So…what do you…have for me next?" Heavy Warrior spit the blood from his mouth before smirking toward Mistress.
Mistress continued to smile, but those around her could see her tightly clench her fists before slowly unclenching them.
"Take this fine warrior to the tent for healing and get him washed…he's earned his rest."
Mistress watched as the slavers took the adventurers away, her eyes lingered on Female Knight delight to see her smile, but internally upset that she was smiling for Heavy Warrior and not her. Her eyes then moved towards Goblin Slayer as the salvers drug the armored man away, but her eyes were filled with nothing but contempt for this man. Mistress returned to her tent and began to pace back and forth, her breathing ragged as she tightly clenched her fists while struggling to keep from angrily yelling out loud.
"She was almost willing to submit herself to me, it would have been done to save that other man, but she would have finally been mine and you…you just had to say something! You damn wretched man, I will ensure that you suffer for your insolence!"
"Mistress?"
Mistress of the Game turned her head to angrily glare at the person speaking to her, but then stopped herself when she saw the young slave girl she had recently acquired. This young girl had short black hair and bright blue eyes, eyes similar to Female Knight's, the whole reason she had bought this girl.
"Ah my little one, my apologies." Mistress returned to her calm demeanor as she walked toward the young girl.
"I'm sorry for bothering you. I saw that you looked mad, so I brought you some wine." The young slave girl held up the tray with the wine glass and bottle upon it.
"How lovely, thank you my beautiful angel." Mistress took the glass in her hand and sipped at the wine, when a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Little one…are you happy here?"
"I…I am happy to serve my mistress."
"You're sweet, but you don't have to lie. Would you like me to free you?"
"I…am I allowed to wish for such a thing?"
"Let me give it some thought but if given the opportunity, how much pain would you be willing to endure?"
"If allowed the opportunity to be free, I'd endure any amount of pain mistress."
"I see…well off you go, thank you again for the wine it has greatly put me at ease."
"Yes mistress."
The young slave girl bowed her head toward Mistress before happily exiting the tent. Unbeknownst to her, Mistress had a wicked smile as she continued to drink her wine.
"My apologies little one, but you will need to endure much for me, but your sacrifice might mean the death of that damn Goblin Slayer."
Author's Note: In the next coming chapters I plan to give more backstory to Mistress to help explain why she is as twisted as she is. Also, with the next chapter we shall see a return of Goblin Slayer fall back into his rage mode as what he succumbed to when he killed Monster Tamer a while back. Looking back at Mistress portrayal, I'd say she is a mixture of Alicia from How Not to Summon a Demon Lord and Esdeath from Akame Ga Kill! She does have a tragic past, as many of these people do, but it does not excuse her actions towards those around her, know that she will indeed get what is coming to her in the end of the Hell Games Arc.